Harima Province Fudoki

Harima no Kuni Fudoki: A 1,300-Year-Old Voice from Ancient Japan

Tucked away in the climate-controlled vaults of Tenri Central Library in Nara Prefecture lies a single, slender paper scroll that represents one of the most extraordinary survivals in all of Japanese literature. The Harima no Kuni Fudoki — the "Gazetteer of Harima Province" — is a 12th-century copy of a far older Nara-period document, and it is the only surviving manuscript of its kind. Through its pages we can hear, in surprisingly intimate detail, the voices of people who lived in western Japan more than 1,300 years ago. Designated a National Treasure in 1965, this unassuming handscroll is a foundational source for understanding ancient Japanese geography, mythology, religion, and daily life.

Historical Background: An Imperial Order from 713

The story of the Harima no Kuni Fudoki begins with an imperial edict issued on the second day of the fifth month of Wadō 6 — the year 713 CE. Empress Genmei, whose court was then establishing the new capital at Nara, commanded every province of Japan to compile a detailed report about its territory. These reports were to include five specific items: the names of districts and villages written with auspicious Chinese characters; local products such as silver, copper, dyes, plants, trees, birds, animals, and insects; the fertility of the soil; the origins of place names of mountains, rivers, fields, and plains; and the ancient tales passed down by local elders.

These documents came to be known as fudoki, literally "records of wind and earth." They were, in essence, a sweeping imperial survey — part census, part folklore collection, part economic assessment. In an age when Japan was rapidly centralizing under a Chinese-style bureaucratic state, the fudoki were tools for understanding and governing the provinces. More than sixty provinces are believed to have contributed records. Of all of these, only five have survived in any substantial form, and only two — the Harima no Kuni Fudoki and the Hizen no Kuni Fudoki — have been designated National Treasures.

Why This Manuscript Was Designated a National Treasure

The scroll preserved at Tenri Library is the only extant ancient manuscript of the Harima gazetteer. Known as the Sanjōnishi-ke-bon, after the aristocratic Sanjōnishi family that once owned it, the handwriting and paper date from no later than the end of the Heian period, roughly the late 12th century. This makes it one of the oldest surviving copies of any Japanese fudoki.

For centuries the scroll slept in the Sanjōnishi family's library in Kyoto, its existence almost forgotten. Only fragments of the Harima text were known to scholars, quoted in later works. Then in 1796 the court noble Yanagihara Norimitsu made a private transcription, and in 1852 the scholar Tanimori Yoshiomi copied it in full and introduced it to the world. Without this single Heian-period scroll, most of the Harima gazetteer would have been lost forever.

Because it is the sole witness to a text of immense historical, linguistic, religious, and folkloric value — and because of its venerable age and provenance — the scroll was designated a National Treasure on May 29, 1965. It sits alongside the Hizen Fudoki as one of the two most precious early manuscripts of this entire genre.

Inside the Scroll: Stories, Soil, and the Oldest Sake

The gazetteer covers Harima Province, which occupies most of what is today the southwestern part of Hyōgo Prefecture. Portions of the original are missing — the general introduction to the province, the entire section on Akashi District, the opening of Kako District, and the whole of Akō District are lost — but what survives is a treasure trove of some 360 ancient place names, with notes on soil quality, local produce, and, most vividly, the tales attached to each locality.

Visitor Information: How to Experience the Treasure

Tenri Central Library is one of Japan's foremost research libraries, housing around 1.5 million volumes and six National Treasures. Although the original Harima no Kuni Fudoki scroll is, understandably, not placed on permanent display, the library itself welcomes visitors aged fifteen and over. The reading rooms, the grand reception hall, and the striking 1930s architecture — registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2023 — are open to the general public, and the library regularly mounts exhibitions that feature its greatest treasures on rotation.

The scroll is occasionally loaned to major exhibitions at venues such as the Tokyo National Museum, the Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo, and the Tenri Sankōkan Museum on the same campus. For international visitors, checking the Tenri Library and Tenri Sankōkan websites in advance is the best way to coincide a trip with a rare public showing.

Access is straightforward: from JR or Kintetsu Tenri Station, the library is a pleasant walk of roughly twenty to twenty-five minutes through the distinctive architectural landscape of Tenri City.

Surrounding Attractions

Tenri and its environs form one of the most historically layered regions in all of Japan, the very cradle of early Japanese civilization.

• Isonokami Jingū Shrine — One of Japan's oldest shrines, mentioned by name in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. Its Heian-period worship hall is itself a National Treasure, and free-roaming sacred chickens wander the wooded precincts.
• Tenri Sankōkan Museum — A world-class ethnographic and archaeological museum on the Tenri University campus, just beside the library, with collections from across Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas.
• Yamanobe no Michi — Said to be the oldest road in Japan, this gentle walking trail begins at Isonokami Jingū and traces the foot of the eastern hills past ancient tombs, local shrines, and rural farmhouses all the way to Sakurai.
• Ancient Burial Mounds (Kofun) — The surrounding countryside is studded with keyhole-shaped tombs of early emperors, including Sujin and Keikō, whose legendary exploits appear within the pages of the Harima no Kuni Fudoki itself.